White Chocolate Ancho Chile Ice Cream

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This stunning ice cream is from Suzy Dayton, former pastry chef at the Coyote Cafe, who served it at the Santa Fe Wine and Chile Festival, where we collected the recipe.

Ingredients

  • 3 ancho chiles, stems removed

  • ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

  • 6 ounces (2 bars) good quality white chocolate such as Tobler or Lindt

  • 2 cups heavy cream

  • 2 cups milk

  • 3/4 cup sugar

  • 1 vanilla bean

  • 6 egg yolks

  • Cinnamon stick and shaved dark semisweet chocolate for garnish

Instructions

Cover the chiles with hot water and let them soak until pliable, about 30 minutes. Remove the chiles and discard the stems and seeds. Place the chiles in a blender or food processor and puree finely with a little of the soaking water. Stir in the cinnamon and cloves.

Melt the chocolate in a double boiler over hot water.

In a medium saucepan, combine the milk, cream, and sugar. Split the vanilla bean and scrape some of the seeds into the mixture. Bring the mixture to a boil.

While whisking the egg yolks in a bowl, pour in about one third of the hot milk mixture. Reheat the remaining milk and add the egg yolks. Heat for 1 minute, whisking constantly.

Strain the mixture into a bowl. Stir in the chiles and chocolate, and chill for 15 minutes in the freezer.

Freeze in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer&rquo;s instructions. Serve garnished with a cinnamon stick and the shaved chocolate.

 

Chocolate Red Chile Zucchini Cake

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Red chile and chocolate is an elegant combination. The zucchini makes this cake extra moist and extra delicious. We guarantee you’ll want to have an extra piece!

Ingredients

  • 2½ cups sifted flour

  • 1/4 cup cocoa

  • 1 teaspoon baking soda

  • 1 teaspoon salt

  • ½ cup butter

  • ½ cup vegetable oil

  • 1 3/4 cups sugar

  • 2 eggs

  • 1 teaspoon vanilla

  • 1 tablespoon New Mexican red chile powder (or more to taste)

  • ½ cup buttermilk

  • 2 cups grated zucchini

  • 6 ounces chocolate chips

  • 3/4 cup chopped walnuts

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Sift together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, cream the butter, vegetable oil, and sugar. Beat with an electric mixer until the mixture is light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Next, add the vanilla and red chile. Mix in the dry ingredients, alternating with the buttermilk. Stir in the zucchini. Pour into a greased 13x9x2 inch pan. Sprinkle the top of the cake with the chocolate chips and walnuts. Bake the cake for about 55 minutes. Cool the pan on a wire rack.

Homemade Hot Sauce

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Many chili cooks like to adjust the heat in their chili by adding various kinds of hot sauces. For the purists in the crowd who insist on making everything from scratch, here is our recipe for a homemade hot sauce. Any chiles of choice can be used. When substituting dry chiles for fresh ones, soak them in warm water for ½ hour to reconstitute them. For more body in this sauce, add the carrots. You can easily double or triple this recipe.

Ingredients

  • 3/4 cup chopped onion

  • 2 cloves garlic, minced

  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

  • ½ cup chopped carrots (optional)

  • 10 small fresh hot chiles such as tabascos or piquins, chopped (or substitute 4 habaneros)

  • ½ cup distilled vinegar

  • 1/4 cup lime juice

  • Pinch salt

Instructions

In a saucepan, saute the onion and garlic in the oil until soft. Add the carrots (if used) with a small amount of water. Bring to a boil, reduce, the heat and simmer until the carrots are soft.

 

Place the mixture and the fresh chiles in a blender and puree the mixture until smooth.

Combine the puree with the vinegar, lime juice, and salt and simmer for 5 minutes to combine the flavors.

Strain the mixture into sterilized bottles and seal.

 

Beans for Chili

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This recipe is considered to be the basic one for beans that will be added to chili when it’s served–assuming, of course, that you are a “with beans” aficionado. There is a great debate about whether or not to soak the beans overnight. The only simple answer is that if the beans are soaked overnight, they will take about half as long to cook the next day.

Ingredients

  • 1 pound dried pinto or kidney beans, cleaned and soaked overnight in 3 quarts cold water

  • 3 more quarts cold water

  • Salt to taste

Instructions

Remove any beans that float, then drain the beans and replace the water with 3 quarts of fresh cold water.

Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered for 2 to 3 hours or until the beans are tender and are easily pierced with a fork. If additional water must be added, use only hot water.

Drain the beans and add salt to taste.

 

Marinated Vegetables for the Grill

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Use these delicious grilled vegetables with anything from a burger to beef or lamb.

Ingredients

  • 2 bell peppers

  • 1 yellow squash

  • 1 zucchini

  • 1 eggplant

  • 1 bunch asparagus

  • 1 stem rosemary, minced

  • 2 tablespoons sugar

  • 3 cloves garlic, minced

  • 2 shallots, minced

  • 2 cups hot chile oil

  • Salt

  • Pepper

Instructions

Clean the bell peppers, being careful to remove the white pith. Cut the peppers into sixths lengthwise. Quarter the squashes lengthwise, and slice the eggplant into one-inch discs. Remove the woody stems from the asparagus. Place all of the vegetables in a bowl. Add the remaining ingredients. Allow to marinate for at least one hour before grilling.

When you are ready to grill, remove the vegetables from the bowl and season generously with salt and pepper. Place them on a preheated grill. Grill them to the extent you prefer. Serve immediately.